ThinkChina.dk Policy Brief - Danish-Chinese Police Cooperation: Time to Take the Next Step

In this ThinkChina.dk Policy Brief, Frode Z. Olsen, Nordic Police Liaison Officer in China 2008-2013, argues that it is time for Danish-Chinese police cooperation to be stepped up by entering a Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters and a Treaty on Extradition.

Key points of the brief include:

The bigger the differences between two countries’ legal systems, the more important it is to have appropriate bilateral agreements in place to ensure the safety and interests of the countries’ citizens;

If no agreement exists between two countries, all legal implications and requirements have to be addressed and solved from scratch and in the absence of a legal basis; judicial officials tend to hesitate in exchanging information/evidence. This slows down or obstruct police investigations and criminal justice;

As China continues to develop and Danish-Chinese interactions increase, the need for judicial cooperation agreements will also increase. Both countries will benefit from such agreement(s) and, as China’s 63 judicial agreements with other countries testify, China is actively pursuing such a development.